Janusz Kaminski

As the director of photography on many of director Steven Spielberg's films, Janusz Kaminski created some of the most lasting and memorable images in cinema history. Whether filming "Schindler's List"...
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20th Century Fox Film via Everett Collection
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda, The Witches, James and the Giant Peach, and The Fantastic Mr. Fox—these are just a few great movies that were inspired by brilliant works from novelist Roald Dahl. And now we can look forward to one more. Steven Spielberg recently confirmed two major film productions that he has in the works. One is the Untitled Cold War Thriller starring Tom Hanks and written by the Coen Brothers. And the other is an adaptation of Dahl's 1982 book The BFG.
The BFG (which stands for “Big, Friendly, Giant”) will be written by Melissa Mathison (Indian in the Cupboard, E.T ), so there's plenty to look forward to with this one. The children's story—about a little girl who befriends an outcast giant that refuses to eat children—has been adapted before. You can watch the full 1989 version below. This one's fun, but we expect Speilberg to take it to the next level with his production.
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Two nights ago, the people spoke. Last night, the critics named their victors. On Sunday, an ambiguous group of foreign press will hand out their Golden Globes while intoxicating many of your favorite stars.
We're officially in the brunt of award season.
Last night's Critic Choice awards didn't surprises with too many out of nowhere wins, but it's important to note that the show isn't a sure fire predictor of the Golden Globes or the Academy Awards. Last year The Social Network took the Critics Choice's top spot. But the big winner at the Oscars? The King's Speech.
As you can tell from our "Making the Case" series, the Hollywood.com staff is quite happy with most of the winners (listed below), but what say you? Are these the best movies/performances/scripts of the year?
Best Picture: The Artist
Best Actress: Viola Davis, The Help
Best Actor: George Clooney, The Descendants
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, Beginners
Best Ensemble: The Help
Best Young Actor: Thomas Horn, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Best Director: Michel Haznavicius, The Artist
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, Steve Zaillian, Moneyball
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Best Foreign Language Film: A Separation
Best Cinematography: Janusz Kaminski, War Horse
Best Art Direction: Hugo
Best Editing: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Best Costume: The Artist
Best Score: The Artist
Best Song: The Muppets, Life’s a Happy Song
Best Visual Effects: Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Best Make-Up: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 2
Best Sound: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt 2
Best Action Movie: Drive
Best Comedy: Bridesmaids
Best Animated Feature: Rango
Best Documentary: George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Honorary Award: Martin Scorsese
Joel Siegel Award: Sean Penn

Title

Did the photography for the US short, "Transients/Durchreisende/En transit," directed by Juan Valdivia

Won widespread acclaim and numerous awards for his work on Steven Spielberg's "Schindler's List"

Feature directorial debut with "Lost Souls," starring Winona Ryder

Reteamed with Spielberg to shoot back-to-back, "The Lost World: Jurassic Park," "Amistad" and "Saving Private Ryan"

Filmed "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"; earned an Oscar nomination for Best Cinematography

Continued his association with Spielberg on "Catch Me If You Can"

Reteamed with Spielberg for "A.I. Artificial Intelligence"

Worked with Spielberg on "Munich" and "War of the Worlds"

Worked as chief lighting technician on the horror anthology film, "After Midnight"

First feature credit as cinematographer, "The Terror Within II"

Once again worked with Spielberg on the sci-fi thriller "Minority Report"

Was director of 2nd unit photography on several features beginning with "Streets"

Director of photography for Spielberg's "The Terminal"

First TV work, cinematography on the TV-movie, "Wildflowers," directed by Diane Keaton

Summary

As the director of photography on many of director Steven Spielberg's films, Janusz Kaminski created some of the most lasting and memorable images in cinema history. Whether filming "Schindler's List" (1993) in stark black-and-white, giving the film a cold documentary feel, or using nausea-inducing, hand-held shots while storming the beaches of Normandy in "Saving Private Ryan" (1998), Kaminski had the unique gift of maintaining an air of realism, while using a wide array of washed-out color schemes, hyperkinetic movement and other visual trickery to draw the audience into the action. A naturally gifted cinematographer, Kaminski had in inauspicious start in Hollywood, making B-movies for low-budget impresario Roger Corman, whose cookie-cutter production facility has been the proving grounds for many later A-list filmmakers. Eventually, with a great deal of resilience and a bit of luck, Kaminski honed his craft to the point where he was noticed by none other than Spielberg. Following "Schindler's List," a stunning and diverse list of achievements with the director followed, among them "A.I. Artificial Intelligence" (2001), "Catch Me if You Can" (2002) and "Munich" (2005). A rare non-Spielberg endeavor, "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" (2007), earned Kaminski some of the highest accolades of his career, while his reunion with the director on the momentous biopic "Lincoln" (2012) arguably surpassed all that had come before. In the eyes of many, Kaminski had established himself as both the best known and the finest cinematographer of his generation.

Education

Name

AFI Conservatory

Columbia College

Center For Advanced Film Studies, American Film Institute

National Film School

Notes

"He [Steven Spielberg] is very experienced with flashy ideas," Kaminski said. "But on this movie ["Schindler's List"], he would stand back and anaylze the dramaturgy of the movie and the story. We did many hand-held shots. We stayed away from the dolly. We stayed away from anything that would make the film look like a Hollywood production." - Janusz Kaminski, quoted in "A Filmmaker Comes of Age", Daily Variety, Dec. 7, 1993

"He worked for me as a student in 1986 and 1987, and he was certainly in the group of students that you felt were going to go on and make careers for themselves. He had a really good mix of technical ability and a great personality." - former teacher Charles Celander, production manager in the film and video department at Columbia College, quoted in the Chicago Sun-Times, March 23, 1999